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Oyo LG Election: OYSIEC Defies Court Order

Despite the Federal High Court ruling stopping the scheduled May 12, 2018 Local Government election in Oyo State, the Oyo State Independent Electoral Commission (OYSIEC) has defied the order, saying the ruling would not stop the conduct of the proposed election.

 

It was gathered on Wednesday that a Federal High Court sitting in Ibadan, the Oyo state capital has stopped the conduct of the proposed local government election billed to take place on Saturday May 12th in all the 33 Local Government Areas and 35 Local Council Development Areas in the state over creation of wards. 

 

It could be recalled that an Abuja High Court last year had ordered the stoppage of the election after some chiefs from Oyo geopolitical zone approached the court to stop the election billed to take place in February 2017 over what they described as bias in the demarcation of constituencies in the area.  

 

But Oyo State Government was later able to vacate the order through the Court last year which prompted the OYSIEC, through its Chairman, Mr. Jide Ajeigbe to announce Saturday May 12th as another date for the local government election. 

 

But, the conduct of the election which is to hold in two weeks time was learnt on Wednesday suffered another setback as another Federal High Court sitting in Ibadan has ordered for the election to be put on hold. 

 

The reason according to investigations revealed that some leaders of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) from Ibarapa geopolitical zone in the state instituted another case over what they described as bias in the creation of wards. 

 

It was learnt that the court judgement favoured the plaintiff who instituted the court case over the creation of wards.

 

But in a swift reaction, the OYSIEC declared that the ruling could not in anyway affect the conduct of election as planned for May 12, 2018.

 

According to a release signed by the media officer of the OYSIEC, Cosmos Oni, stated “that the attention of the Oyo State Independent Electoral Commission has been drawn to a news item of an interim order by the Federal High Court in Ibadan said to have stopped the scheduled Local Council elections fixed for 12th May 2018. 

 

“While we are yet to be formally served with any such order. Our information confirms that the said court’s order did not stop the scheduled elections and was only directed at using the newly delineated wards for the scheduled elections by OYSIEC. 

 

“Elections are therefore not, restrained from proceeding as scheduled in all the local governments and LCDAs”. 

 

“Meanwhile it should be noted that the extant provisions of section 9(1) of the Oyo State Independent Electoral Commission law, cap 154, Laws of Oyo State 2000 which states that “no interim, interlocutory or any other order, decision or judgement by any court or tribunal before or after the commencement of this law in respect of any intra-party, or inter party dispute, or any other proceedings  or matter pertaining to an election under this law, shall affect the timing of an election  under this law”. This extant law remains valid and binding on us all”.

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